Coventry 2 Colchester 1 Entertainment 0

By CovSid67
October 25 2006

If there was ever any such thing as a Sky Sports channel subscription cancelling fixture, this was it. On paper it never looked like being a classic, and it wasn't much better on grass either....

There were two surprises in store for home supporters: the first being that the new 'Skidata' entry system was working (Much to the amusement of a fair few people going through the turnstiles); the second being that Richard Duffy, injured and unable to join us on loan for a third time, joined us on loan and took his place in the starting XI! Clive Clarke, signed on loan from Sunderland, also made his debut.

Leon McKenzie started on the left flank, and looked more than comfortable in said position, while Colin Cameron started on the right .... and didn't.

The former tormented Halford for the first 15 minutes, regularly leaving the Colchester defender trailing in his wake (Whatever that means), before this successful tactic was abandoned - though not before McKenzie had once again skinned Halford and set up John for a chance he just could not miss. But he did. He 'Hendersoned' it....

Another decent chance fell to Stern John, but he once again wanted an extra touch, and a goal opportunity was wasted. If John could learn to shoot first time on the odd occasion, he would probably be a 20-goals-a-season player .... and probably at some other club.

Marshall was finally tested on 20 minutes, with the player I would have put somebody elses mortgage on to open the scoring, Jamie Cureton (Who I seem to remember scoring a mere five goals one season, with four of them against Coventry City), hitting an effort from outside the area that the Coventry No. 1 spillled, with the fairly immaculate Robert Page hacking the ball to safety.

Watson was replaced by one-time CCFC loanee Johnnie Jackson with just under half-an-hour played.

A blatant foul on Cameron was ignored after 32 minutes, as was a slap in Doyle's face. Plenty of Coventry fans seemed to be of the opinion that the latter was deserved, with a few of Doyle's challenges in the first half being Essien-esque!

A dull bout of head tennis ended with a lame Kyle shot giving the Colchester keeper nothing more than catching practice after 34 minutes, and five minutes later Colchester were forced to make their second change, with one-time CCFC target Garcia replaced by McLeod.

Minutes before half-time the stewards rushed below ground to sort out a fight under the stand, followed by a fair few supporters - with the match severley lacking in entertainment, I had presumed they were stopping supporters from opening the exits and fleeing the ground....

Those that opted to watch the fight missed a fine Stern John goal on the stroke of half-time, and a slightly more animated goal celebration than usual (Obviously showing off in front of the cameras!).

Soon after half-time Doyle should have doubled the lead, and minutes later a decent delivery from a corner was headed just wide by McKenzie.

Colchester fans were riled soon after when a scramble in the Coventry area was cleared away, with the few dozen that had made the journey screaming for a penalty. While they vented their spleen at the match officials, Page once again smashed the ball clear.

For possibly the only time in the match, a Kyle knockdown found its target, Stern John, and some trickery saw John set up Doyle for a chance he could not miss. And he didn't. His goal celebration would suggest he enjoyed the experience of finally hitting an effort on target, and let's hope we don't have to wait so long to see his next one....

The quality of set pieces from Coventry City, usually about as welcomed by the supporters as the tabloids at the McCartney households at this moment in time (With our record reading something along the lines of four goals from in about four hundred attempts), were slightly improved, though one that landed on the head of Kevin Kyle was unbelievably missed when it seemed easier to score.

That wasted chance could have put the result beyond doubt, and a poor clearance from Marshall (Which was greeted with a non-Ricoh attender sitting nearby saying 'your keeper could do with working on his kicking') gifted Colchester a goal they never looked like scoring.

McKenzie was replaced by Tabb on 85 minutes (Though moving McKenzie up front and taking Kyle off was the move most would have selected), while John was replaced by Hutchsion, and Cameron (Disgracefully booed by some home supporters) was replaced by Birchall with a minute left. Once again the tactic was 'protect what we have', not kill the game off....

That said, Hutchison did waste an opportunity to pass to Tabb, with the youngster having the freedom of the entire right-hand side of the Colchester half.

A quality pass deep into injury time saw Kyle in a one-on-one with a Colchester defender, but, rather than head in the general direction of the goal, he aimed for the corner flag instead - ironically, the advertising hoarding just behind where he stood put up its 'Vision, Ambition, Determination' banner. It couldn't have been less apt had it been specifically written for that moment....

There were a few top quality moves from the home side, but most of their display seemed to be hampered by the fear of losing at home again. Coventry look far better as an attacking force, so opting to try and entertain and win rather than hold onto what we've got when we take the lead (Which is surely taking years off supporters lives!) is surely worth experimenting with?